Politicians say the dumbest things
Intentional or not, officeholders' verbal errors can get them in a lot of trouble
We almost expect it of politicians these days. Sooner or later, they're going to say something really dumb. And watching them try to extricate themselves has become a great spectator sport.
Depending on your political orientation, these are the kind of remarks that either make you think "Why should he say that?" or chuckle "Keep talking, buddy." That's because a verbal error, especially when handled poorly afterward, can end a political career. (See Earl Butz, whose disgusting joke about blacks got him bounced as Gerald Ford's agriculture secretary.)
“Still, they need not be fatal”, said Lawrence Mintz, director of the Art Center for Humor Studies at the University of Maryland, who has studied this phenomenon for years. "When a politician shows himself as imperfect or less than polished, we can read it in two ways. It may turn to ridicule, and we lower our esteem of him and our confidence in his ability. But it can have the opposite effect, to soften and humanize him, giving us the feeling he's 'one of us.' ''
The way out seems to be the following: Apologize - right away. " 'Oops' works when you get a fact wrong or you say something off the cuff.Racial slurs and the like mean big trouble - but even here, the key seems to be a rapid and full apology, no excuses.
Let’s take Rep. John Cooksey, who made this intemperateremark shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: "If I see someone who comes in that's got a diaper on his head -- that guy needs to be pulled over." Cooksey failed to defuse the issue, and as a result he's out of Congress.
Politicians' errors seem to fall into three categories:
1. Inadvertent slips of the tongue that aren't what the speaker meant to say but just sound stupid, as when Vice President Hubert Humphrey said on TV that "no sane person in the country likes the war in Vietnam, and neither does President Johnson." Ironically, however, President Bush's mangled verbiage may aid his popularity. "We like people speaking off the cuff," Mintz said. "We almost resent it when a politician is too smooth and polished. We think he's equivocating."
2. Offensive comments made while somebody's trying to be clever or score points when they shouldn't be. However, Now-Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius managed to overcome her horrid campaign joke that driving in Missouri was more dangerous than being in the WorldTradeCenter on Sept. 11.
3. Comments that reveal anevil underlying mentality - a person who Just Doesn't Get It.
Politician’s verbal diarrhea may have various consequences. "Why do we accept it in some cases and not others?" Does the media play favorites or target others? It does make you wonder. Powerful veteran Sen. Robert Byrd, a Ku Klux Klan member in his youth, gave a bizarre TV interview about race relations peppered with the "n-word" a couple of years ago. Nothing happened. And little notice was paid when media darling Sen. John McCainreferred to Asians as "gooks" during the 2000 primaries. Criticism was also muted against Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., who came up with this gem in 1993 while reminiscing about African diplomats attending international trade conferences: "Rather than eating each other, they'd just come up (to Switzerland) and get a good meal in Geneva."
Good. We should realize that verbal missteps are bound to happen, and we’d better deal with it. "There are hundreds of politicains who can't give a good speech, and thousands of state legislators who lost every debate they were ever in.
To err is human. And as certain as baby-kissing we can be sure a high-profile politician, somewhere, sometime, will trip on his tongue. It is what they do.
Or, as President Dwight Eisenhower once said, "Things are more like they are now than they ever were before."
Other famous flubs
• "I'm not against the blacks, and a lot of the good blacks will attest to that."
Former Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham
• "That depends on what the definition of 'is' is."
President Bill Clinton in his deposition on the Monica Lewinsky case
• "This is a great day for France!"
President Richard Nixon at French President Charles de Gaulle's funeral
• "The president has kept all the promises he intended to keep."
George Stephanopolous, aide to Bill Clinton
• "For seven and a half years, I've worked alongside President Reagan. We've had triumphs. Made some mistakes. We've had some sex ... uh ... setbacks."
Then-Vice President George Bush, while campaigning to succeed Reagan
• "Capital punishment is our society's recognition of the sanctity of human life."
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
• "I'm President of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli."
President George Bush
• "I have learned from the mistakes I may or may not have made. When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible."
President George W. Bush
• "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should."
Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va.
“I was a pilot flying an airplane and it just so happened that where I was flying made what I was doing spying.”
Francis Gary Power, U-2 reconnaissance pilot held by the Soviets for spying, in an interview after he was returned to the US.
“Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life.”
Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign.
“Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.”
Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC
“The doctors X-rayed my head and found nothing.”
Dizzy Dean explaining how he felt after being hit on the head by a ball in the 1934 World Series.
Give the English equivalents to the following words and expressions:
«набирать очки»
ведущие политики
выгораживать себя
выдать «перл»
говорить без подготовки
говорить двусмысленности
должностные лица
допускать ошибки в речи
иметь обратный эффект
иметь что то в виду
исказить факты
многословие
несдержанное замечание
обидные высказывания
оговорка
опекать любимчиков
отвратительная шутка
положить конец политической карьере
разрядить ситуацию
расовые выпады
способствовать популярности
Speak up!
Provide more examples of politician’s verbal errors.
What can be the consequences of such slips of the tongue?
Why do some politicians intentionally make intemperate remarks?